Tottenham v Aston Villa: Key stats and player info

Thomas Frank surely cannot afford any more negative cup headlines. The fallout of Tottenham's head coach unwittingly drinking from an Arsenal-branded cup before the midweek league defeat at Bournemouth has, rightly or wrongly, intensified the pressure on him.

A storm is brewing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The boss was booed as he approached travelling supporters to applaud after Wednesday's stoppage-time defeat, while players Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro and Joao Palhinha had frank exchanges with fans.

Since then, captain Cristian Romero appeared to accuse the club's hierarchy of telling "lies" in a since-edited Instagram post.

It has been three wins and six defeats in 13 games for Spurs. They did at least show some attacking intent against Bournemouth, a welcome change from the pragmatic and uninspired fare more typical of their season.

Tottenham rank in the Premier League's bottom five this season for the amount of shots and touches in the opposition box, and have incredibly only attempted 11 through balls. There are nine players alone in the league with a higher figure.

Addressing Tottenham's attacking shortcomings, Frank said: "I share the frustration, it's in the ethos of the club. It is something we are working very hard on. We are lacking some of the free-flowing offensive players that we had last season and that is part of the challenge."

Did you know?

• Tottenham's home league form in 2025 was their worst on record, with 11 league defeats in the calendar year. However, they won eight of their nine home games in other competitions, drawing the other, scoring 22 goals and only conceding three.
• Spurs won the last of their eight FA Cups in 1991. They have since reached eight semi-finals but lost them all. Their first win came 125 years ago, in April 1901, as a non-league club.
• Tottenham have lost 12 of 18 penalty shootouts in all competitions, including their last two in the FA Cup. On both of those occasions, Spurs missed three penalties as they suffered fifth-round exits at home to Norwich in 2020 and Nottingham Forest in 1996.

Key Villa players - Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins

Rogers, a powerful ball carrier, has rapidly developed into Villa's biggest asset, encapsulated by three contracts in two years at the club. Signed for an initial £8m after Unai Emery became aware of Rogers' ability while analysing FA Cup opponents Middlesbrough. A poor start to this season reached a nadir with ironic cheers after he finally made a successful pass against Bologna in September. He and Declan Rice are the only players to feature in all 10 England games under Thomas Tuchel (six starts).

Meanwhile, Watkins has six Premier League goals since 1 December, which has only been bettered by Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He has been nursing a knee issue since Euro 2024, but has looked sharper of late, and he believes he can reach 20 goals this season despite "a slow start" of one goal in 19 games.

Team news

Tottenham winger Mohammed Kudus has been ruled out until April with the thigh injury he sustained last weekend. Rodrigo Bentancur is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury during Wednesday's defeat by Bournemouth, while Lucas Bergvall was also injured and will be assessed. Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke are back in training but not expected to feature.

For Aston Villa, goalkeeper Emi Martinez is a doubt because of the calf injury that forced him off at halftime in midweek. Pau Torres returned to the matchday squad against Crystal Palace and fellow centre-back Tyrone Mings could be fit.